Hoofit, a New Zealand-bred horse who won a grade III stakes at Keeneland Race Course in 2011, died Oct. 14 as a result of a leg infection, according to trainer Graham Motion.
"He survived an earthquake, hurricane and shipping across the world but this was too much," Motion said in a Twitter post.
A 6-year-old gelded son of Mossman, Hoofit was a stakes winner in his native New Zealand before being purchased privately by Gillian Johnston upon the advice of West Coast-based bloodstock agent Danny Boultinghouse.
The winner of the Stoll Keenon Ogden Phoenix Stakes (gr. III) in 2011, Hoofit won or placed in 15 of 32 career starts and had earnings of $283,952. This year, the gelding had finished second in stakes at Belmont Park, Colonial Downs, and Presque Isle Downs. Last year, Hoofit finished second in an overnight grass stake at Saratoga Race Course.
In 2011, Johnston told Esther Marr of The Blood-Horse of Hoofit's worldwide travels. First, on his way to the United States from his native New Zealand, he had layovers in Australia, China, Alaska, and New York.
After buying Hoofit, Johnston had plans to send him to California to race in January, but his original flight got delayed due to an earthquake.
"When Hoofit finally arrived in the U.S. in spring 2011, he was vanned from New York to Johnston's Bendabout Farm near Chattanooga, Tenn., soon after which he endured a tornado that destroyed half of the property," according to the article. "In another twist of fate, when Hoofit was first sent to trainer Graham Motion's barn at Fair Hill in Maryland, he experienced some of the harsh aftermath storms of Hurricane Irene that ripped through the northeast coast last summer."
Hoofit, inside, racing in the Phoenix Stakes at Keeneland.
Keeneland/Coady Photography